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October 31, 2013

Just Like Me Knits - A Bittersweet Giveaway

When Girlfriend said that this might be her last Halloween, I realized that my little girl is growing up. My last Halloween was when I was 12 and I *think* I was Raggedy Andy (times were simpler then). I walked door to door with my then girlfriend Carol who was a couple of years younger than me so she was Raggedy Ann (again, times were simpler then). This was the year my sister was born and I remember that times were pretty bad economically and people hung white handkerchiefs in their mailboxes signifying that there would be no candy there.

I thought of this because today is Halloween, first of all, and second of all, I have this book, Just Like Me Knits by Brandy Fortune (of the online knitting magazine, Petite Purls and blog site Pixie Purls) sitting in front of me. I got it earlier this year and have been meaning to write about it because it is honestly one of the cutest little kid books out there.

The photography is so sweet. Brandy photographs her children modeling her knits like we did with Girlfriend when she was their age. As I look through the pages I have a bittersweet feeling for Girlfriend's fleeting little-girl-ness, if you know what I mean. These patterns are a mixture of knitting and sewing and most of them come in two versions: One for a little girl or boy and a matching one for the child's doll.

Many of the patterns are small enough to knit up quickly: caps, vests, a shrug for a little girl and her dolly, socks, beaded bracelets, whimsical matching bear caps and a little sewn dress.

We're getting down to the wire for Holiday knitting, so I thought I would do a giveaway, just in time.

Leave a comment telling me when you stopped trick-or-treating and what your costume was, and in a few days I'll do a random drawing!

I think I was probably 10 or so when I had my last Trick-or-Treat outing as a kid. I can remember living in an apartment and thinking how awesome it was that all the doors were so close to my home, and there were sooooo many doors. That year was candy heaven for me and my friends. Now I have grandsons that I make costumes for and am truly blessed to see them have their own T/T experiences. Thanks for the giveaway. The book looks like a lot of fun!
Deborah

My first Halloween was very late - I was about 11. (Our family must have been living under a tree somewhere.) I was dressed as a gypsy. Once I got the hang of it I tried to make up for lost time by pushing it until I was 14. This was not popular among the little old ladies who answered the door and tsk-tsk-ed at my mature years. Now I happily hand out candy to 16 year olds. You never know what their story is. Brandy Fortune's was the first pattern I ever bought online. Would love her book.

You know what? We never did trick or treating in Germany! There is no Halloween, can you imagine?
My three kids and I went trick or treating today (in America), and my 12 year old didn't dress up, thinking that this is so lame. My almost four year old loved it, except she was afraid of the creepy costumes. So was I.

My mom was pretty against Halloween, so I actually never went. I'm trying to live vicariously through my daughter. We went out briefly last year, when she was two. This year, she totally got it. We planned her costume out a couple months ago - Little Red Riding Hood, complete with a hand knit cape - and she's been telling everyone who is interested about it. Tonight it was a blast as she fully engaged. She'd spot the houses with their lights on, try to not be so shy as they talked with her, and was a total trooper in the drizzly rain (rain boots made for much happy splashing through big puddles). It was so darn fun.

Oh, I love Faith's story. My little man is 8 months and I am very excited for the future Halloween when he gets it.

I loved sewing and making my own costumes and I dressed up for Halloween right on up into college. I think I actually went trick or treating one year in college dressed in a homemade cow costume (with pink balloons pinned on as udders!). We went to a couple of houses, then I stopped because I felt bad for taking candy when there were little kids around who definitely deserved it more.

I think I was about 11 or so and I think I dressed up 50s style with cuffed jeans, white keds, a scarf-tied ponytail and red lipstick. We never had much money when I was a kid so costumes were always sourced from what we could find in a family member's closet. I think they always made the best costumes because they were what we created for ourselves.

We were allowed through 8th grade and after that it was considered lame to go trick-or-treating. To this day when I see high-schoolers out asking for candy I think it's a little odd.
We almost got rained out this year, but fortunately the rain stopped in time. My kids had a great time and got a big load of candy and we went to the neighborhood bonfire and everything. I know I will miss this!

Last time trick or treating? My friends and I actually went door to door for candy in our first year of University! I'm shocked to read that everyone stopped so young. I do still dress up every year (turning 40 next year and I guess still a kid at heart.) This year I was one of the Pink Ladies from the film Grease.

The last year I trick or treated as an active participant was when I was 12. Three of us went as the 3 Stooges. I dressed up and went with my kids until my youngest was 6. The last year they were Harry Potter kids and the adults were Lord of the Rings costumes.

oh, I was one of those annoying teenagers. I went out with my boyfriend around 15 and dressed as a bag lady... I'm sure were charming to all the people expecting to see princesses! I think my Dad suggested I was too old and to leave the holiday to younger kids! Tonight I had such fun with all the kids that came to the door - we moved and after three years with no kiddos, hubby had to run to the store for more candy! Thank you for the chance to win.

I was 12 years old when I stopped trick or treating. My costume that year was my brother's sailor suit. He had been in the Navy & saved his uniforms. He was very thin & I was able to fit into them easily. Ah, the good old days ... lol!